NHL Betting Lines, Best Bets & Promos for the 2026-27 Season Opener

Q: Who won the Stanley Cup last season?

The Carolina Hurricanes won their second Stanley Cup in franchise history, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in six games. It was Carolina's first title since 2006, and the team returns largely the same roster for its title defense this season.

Q: What is a no sweat bet?

A no sweat bet insures your first wager at a sportsbook. If that bet loses, you receive your stake back in bonus bets rather than losing it outright, and if it wins, you simply collect your normal cash payout. It's one of several common welcome offer structures used across NHL sportsbooks this season.

Q: Which sportsbooks have the best NHL promos for opening night?

BetMGM, bet365, DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars, Fanatics and BetRivers all currently run NHL-eligible welcome offers, though the structures differ between a no sweat bet, a bet-and-get and a flat deposit match. Check the specific terms for your state before signing up, since availability and offer size can vary.

Q: Is Gavin McKenna playing on opening night?

Gavin McKenna, the first overall pick in the 2026 NHL draft, is expected to make his NHL debut for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Montreal Canadiens on opening night. He joins a retooled Toronto roster that also added goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and defenseman Darren Raddysh over the offseason.

By Mark Fordham

Sep 29th, 2026 7:04 PM EDT

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The longest NHL regular season in more than three decades starts Tuesday, September 29, when the Carolina Hurricanes raise their Stanley Cup banner. They begin the defense of their title against the Florida Panthers, double Stanley Cup winners in the two years prior to the Hurricanes.

The league has expanded to 84 games for the first time since 1993-94, and the offseason, as always, has reshuffled the contender picture to ensure this opening slate is going to be must-watch action. This guide covers the storylines moving the market, the current lines and best bets for opening night and how different NHL promo types and betting offers work.

NHL Season Storylines to Watch

Carolina returns largely the same championship roster, though its biggest offseason loss came in goaltending. Frederik Andersen left for Edmonton after backstopping the Hurricanes' 16-3 postseason run, handing the crease to Brandon Bussi and Pyotr Kochetkov for the title defense.

Florida, meanwhile, gets a healthy Aleksander Barkov back after the ACL and MCL tear that helped sink last season’s push for a third consecutive Stanley Cup. The Panthers also added star Brady Tkachuk after an offseason trade with Ottawa. The two teams enter as co-favorites on the Stanley Cup market at the best betting sites.

Toronto's rebuild is the story to watch outside the top of the market. The Maple Leafs won the draft lottery and took Gavin McKenna first overall, then added goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, a two-time champion with Florida in free agency and have a new head coach in former Kings coach Jim Hiller. Everyone will be watching for how McKenna will take to the pros from the very first week of the season.

Out West, Colorado enters as one of the top two or three Cup contenders after leading the league in goals per game and penalty-kill percentage last season, even after a conference finals sweep at the hands of Vegas Golden Knights. Edmonton sits close behind, with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl chasing a return trip after another early playoff exit exposed the Oilers' goaltending. They will hope Andersen can help plug that gap.

There's also a homecoming story on opening night. Patrick Kane signed a two-year deal to return to Chicago, the team he won three championships with before he was traded away at the deadline to the Rangers. He makes his season debut on the road against the Golden Knights, while the Blackhawks play without injured top-line center Connor Bedard.

Opening Night Betting Lines

Carolina opened as a -129 favorite over Florida for Tuesday's banner-raising game, meaning a $129 bet on the Hurricanes returns $100 in profit. That's a tight number for a defending champion hosting a team that missed the playoffs last season. However, it reflects probably more respect for Florida's healthier and further strengthened roster this season.

Colorado doesn't play until Wednesday, when the Avalanche host the Kings under new Kings head coach Peter Laviolette. That game carries its own line worth watching given how short Colorado already sits on the Stanley Cup futures market. Lines on every other opening night game, along with the full Stanley Cup futures board, are updated continuously on our NHL odds page.

As of game day, Carolina sits a modest moneyline favorite in the -123 to -133 range across boards, with Florida priced between +109 and +112, and the total split between 6 and 6.5 goals. Florida confirmed Brady Tkachuk good to go for his Panthers debut on the top line with Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart, while Carolina opens without 32-goal scorer Seth Jarvis, still recovering from June shoulder surgery.

Update: the banner-night opener has turned into a physical, low-event affair, with the Hurricanes and Panthers still scoreless through two periods. The teams had combined for more than 60 hits by the second intermission, with Andrei Svechnikov among the more active forecheckers as both goaltending tandems have kept the crease clean so far.

NHL Betting Trends to Know

A few trends from last season carry weight into this specific opener. Carolina went 29-10-2 at home last season, the platform that carried the Hurricanes to the league's top seed entering the postseason. Florida, by contrast, went just 17-23-1 on the road, a big part of why a team that had reached three straight conference finals missed the playoffs entirely. Those numbers will keep the Hurricanes favorites with most betting apps.

Home-ice trends like this are worth checking before any season-opening bet, not just for the marquee game. A team's road record from the previous season rarely resets overnight, and early-season lines often lag behind how a roster has actually changed over the summer.

Our Best Bets for Opening Night

Florida Panthers +129 at Carolina: Getting a healthy Barkov and the Tkachuk brothers' debut as a plus-money underdog looks like value against a Carolina team breaking in two unproven goaltenders in a game this big.

Vegas Golden Knights moneyline vs. Chicago: Kane's return is the story, but Chicago opens the season without its best player in Bedard, and a Cup finalist at home should still be favored regardless of the sentimental angle.

Toronto Maple Leafs Over 3.5 Team Total (+122) : Between McKenna's debut, Bobrovsky's championship pedigree in net and a retooled coaching staff, Toronto's roster looks stronger than the Canadiens’, even accounting for Montreal’s playoff pedigree from last spring. The over 2.5 line on Toronto's own total is already priced as a near-lock, so the 3.5 number offers a decent price while still backing the same attacking upgrade.

For the full slate of betting picks across the entire opening week, our NHL picks page breaks down every matchup in more depth.

Understanding NHL Promo Types

Not every NHL welcome offer and sportsbook promo works the same way, and knowing the difference matters before you sign up. The table below covers four current offers, each built around a distinct structure, so you can see how they differ rather than just comparing headline numbers.

Sportsbook	Promo Type	Current Offer	Who It Suits
BetMGM	No sweat bet	Up to $1,000 back in bonus bets over your first 10 days	Bettors who want their first bets insured rather than paid out regardless of the result
DraftKings	Bet-and-get	Spend $5 or more, get $150 in bonuses paid over 14 days	Bettors comfortable wagering small amounts regularly over two weeks
bet365	Flat bonus, win or lose	Bet $10, get $200 in bonus bets whether that bet wins or loses	Bettors who want a guaranteed bonus rather than one tied to an outcome
Fanatics	Deposit match	Up to $1,000 matched in FanCash across your first 10 days	Bettors who plan to deposit and wager consistently from the start

A no sweat bet, like BetMGM's, insures your first wager and refunds it in bonus credit if it loses. A bet-and-get promo, like DraftKings', pays out bonus bets over several days regardless of whether each wager wins. bet365's structure pays a flat bonus on a single qualifying bet no matter the result, while Fanatics matches your stake in site credit as you keep betting.

None of these are better or worse across the board. They just suit different betting habits, and full terms for all seven operators running NHL offers this season are covered in detail on our NHL betting sites guide.

NHL Betting Lines FAQs

When does the 2026-27 NHL season start?

The regular season begins Tuesday, September 29, 2026, with a five-game opening slate. The Carolina Hurricanes host the Florida Panthers at 5 pm ET and raise their Stanley Cup championship banner before puck drop. The season is 84 games per team, the most in more than 30 years, and concludes April 10, 2027.

Who won the Stanley Cup last season?

What is a no sweat bet?

Which sportsbooks have the best NHL promos for opening night?

Is Gavin McKenna playing on opening night?

About the Author

Mark Fordham

More About Mark

Mark spent over a decade as a sports reporter and editor with Goal.com and Bleacher Report. He is now a Content Manager at Bookies.com covering all manner of sports from the Premier League and cricket to the NBA and NFL. Mark also has years of experience working in the online casino industry and knows how to rate a good one over a bad one.